Analyte detection in physiological fluids, e.g. blood or blood derived products, is of ever increasing importance to today's society. Analyte detection assays find use in a variety of applications, including clinical laboratory testing, home testing, etc., where the results of such testing play a prominent role in diagnosis and management in a variety of disease conditions. Analytes of interest include glucose for diabetes management, cholesterol, and the like. In response to this growing importance of analyte detection, a variety of analyte detection protocols and devices for both clinical and home use have been developed.
One type of method that is employed for analyte detection is an electrochemical method. In such methods, an aqueous liquid sample is placed into a sample-receiving chamber in an electrochemical cell that includes two electrodes, e.g., a counter and working electrode. The analyte is allowed to react with a redox reagent to form an oxidizable (or reducible) substance in an amount corresponding to the analyte concentration. The quantity of the oxidizable (or reducible) substance present is then estimated electrochemically and related to the amount of analyte present in the initial sample.
Such systems are susceptible to various modes of inefficiency and/or error. For example, variations in temperatures can affect the results of the method. This is especially relevant when the method is carried out in an uncontrolled environment, as is often the case in home applications or in third world countries. Errors can also occur when the sample size is insufficient to get an accurate result. Partially filled test strips can potentially give an inaccurate result because the measured test currents are proportional to the area of the working electrode that is wetted with sample. Thus, partially filled test strips can under certain conditions provide a glucose concentration that is negatively biased. A user can have difficulty determining whether an electrode area of a test strip is completely covered by a sample. Many test strips, including the ones described herein, have a relatively small volume (<one microliter) making it difficult for a user to see and judge whether there is a small area of an electrode that is unwetted. This can especially be a problem for people with diabetes that often have poor visual acuity.